The European Union signed a security agreement with Kyiv at a June 27 summit of European Union leaders attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“For the first time, this agreement will enshrine the commitment of all 27 [EU] member states to provide Ukraine with extensive support, regardless of any internal institutional changes,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in a social media post.
“Each step we take brings us closer to our historic goal of peace and prosperity in our common European home.”
The agreement obliges the 27-member bloc to continue providing Ukraine with weapons and other forms of support over the next 10 years.
According to EU officials, the agreement is not a “mutual defense” pact of the kind that binds members of the Western NATO alliance.
Rather, it is a pledge to continue supporting Kyiv to deter “future aggression” by Russia, which invaded eastern Ukraine in February 2022.
The pact will cement the EU’s commitment to helping Ukraine in several fields, including weapons procurement, military training, defense industry cooperation, and demining efforts.
The summit in Brussels saw similar bilateral agreements signed between Ukraine and EU members Lithuania and Estonia.
“Lithuania will provide Ukraine with security and political support annually,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
The freshly inked pact with Estonia, he said, “covers cooperation in the supply of arms and military equipment, training ... and defense industry cooperation.”
Both longstanding NATO members, the two Baltic states are among Kyiv’s most ardent European supporters.
Moscow has yet to comment on any of the three security pacts signed in Brussels.
Aspiring Ally
The three agreements follow similar pacts between Ukraine and its allies, more than a dozen of which have been signed since the start of 2024.In January, the UK became the first to sign a bilateral security pact with Kyiv.
At the time, London said the agreement would “formalize” ongoing UK support for Ukraine, “including intelligence-sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation.”
Since then, 13 other European countries—including Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands—and Canada have signed similar agreements with Kyiv.
Earlier this month, on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Italy, the United States and Japan signed security pacts with Ukraine.
Notably, the agreement with the United States commits future U.S. administrations to continue supporting Ukraine.
“Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long term,” President Joe Biden, who will face off against former President Donald Trump in November, said after signing the agreement.
Former President Trump has said that he would quickly end the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine if reelected.
The Republican candidate has also frequently called on Europe to assume a greater share of the financial burden of supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
According to the U.S. State Department, the latest agreement commits both parties to “strengthening security and economic cooperation, seeking accountability for Russia’s actions, and establishing the conditions for a just and lasting peace.”
It also reportedly allows the two countries to share intelligence and conduct joint military exercises.
According to the document’s text, it is also meant to serve as a stepping stone for Ukraine’s eventual accession to NATO as a full-fledged member.
“There has been speculation that by concluding enough of these agreements, we do not need [NATO] membership,” Ihor Zhovkva, Mr. Zelenskyy’s foreign policy adviser, said on June 13.
“False. We need NATO membership.”
No Substitute for NATO
Kyiv first applied for NATO membership in late 2022, six months after Russia launched its initial invasion.But last summer, at a landmark NATO summit in Lithuania, Kyiv failed—despite expectations—to receive a formal invitation to join the alliance.
At the time, NATO members promised to extend an invitation to Ukraine “when allies agree and conditions are met.”
Instead, Kyiv was assured of alliance support in the form of bilateral “security guarantees” with individual members, several of which have since been signed.
To join NATO, Ukraine must garner the approval of all 32 existing members, some of which continue to voice reservations, fearing direct confrontation with Russia.
Speaking at the summit in Brussels, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas urged fellow EU leaders to “demonstrate through ... words and actions that Ukraine’s path to NATO is irreversible.”
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he expected Kyiv’s allies to send a “clear message” on Ukraine’s path to membership at an upcoming alliance summit in Washington.
